George s



(No Model.)

G. S. SHEFFIELD.

HAND GAR.

Patented 001;. 17, 1882.

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WUWESSM A f By his Homey/6 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE S. SHEFFIELD, OF THREE BIYERS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO THESHEFFIELD VELOOIPEDE OAR COMPANY, OF SAME PLAGE.

HAND-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 265,987, dated October17, 1882.

' Application filed July 17,1882. (No model.)

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGES. SHEEEIELD, of Tllree Rivers,I ill thecounty ot' St. Joseph and State of Michigan, have invented certaill newand useful Improvements ill Hand-Gars,

of which the following is a specification.

My improvements relate to several different parts ot' a handcar, and aresuccinctly stated at the elld ot' my description, in my claims.

1o In the accompanying drawings, illustrating a handcar and itsdiil'erent parts embodying illy improvements, Figure l is an elevationof a hand-car viewed from one side. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of themain driving gear-wheel.

i5 Fig. 3 is a top or plan view of the walkingbeam. Figs. 4 and 5 arecross-sections of the main gear-wheel shown ill Fig. 2, drawnrespectively upon the dotted lines 4 4 alld 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is aside view alld Fig. 7 a

zo front view ot' a section ot' one ofthe brakes and a part ot' itsoperating devices shown in side elevation, as applied to the car-wlleelsin Fig. l. Fig. 8 shows a step and foot-rod provided with a coiledspring and aspring-barrel, partly in section, so as to display thespring and footrod ill place within the barrel. Fig. 9 is a side viewot' the step, angular foot-rod, and barrel, and a flat spring workingVagainst a pin projecting illwardly from the foot-rod.

3o A indicates the main frame of the hand-car; B, the wheels; C, themain driving gear-wheel gearing with a pinion (not illustrated) fixed onthe axle of one pair ot' wheels.

D indicates the walking-beam provided with handles E; F, itssupporting-frame, and G the connecting-rod between the walking-beam andthe crank H otthe lnain driving gear-wheel.

I indicates the brake-shoes pivoted to the main frame at K. g

4o L indicates a pair of rods or toggle-levers,

' pivoted at their outer ends to the lower portions of the brakes and attheir inner ends to the foot or toe of the foot-rod M, which rod worksvertically within the barrel N.

4 5 From the foregoing description and by reference to the drawings thegeneral outlines of the construction of the car will be understood, andit will be perceived that to drive it the walking-beamis operated bymeans of its handles ill the usual way, alld thatto stopitpress- 5o ureby means of the foot or otherwise is ap plied to the step O, which willoausethe brakeshoes to press against the peripheries of the l'ront andrear wheels through the instrumentality ot' the foot-rod and thetoggle-levers. 55 There may, ofcourse, lie a set ot' brake lnech, allismupon each side of the car, if desired.

I will now proceed to describe more exactly what are my improvements asspecitied in my clailns, so as to distinguish them from subject- 6omatter which is old ill hand-cars. d

In the ordinary hand-car llle walking-beam and lits rock-shaft areusually cast ill one piece, or else the rock-shaft is welded or shrullkor otherwise rigidly lixed to the walking-beam. It is desirable inpractice that the walkingbealn may be adjusted on the rock-shaft and bereadily removable therefrom. Therefore illstead of constructing andconnecting the beanl and its rock-shaft ill the usual manner, I pro- 7ovide a shoulder or collar, I), or equivalent stop llpon the rock-shaft,and also a screw-thread,

Q. I then provide a hole through the center ofthe walking-beam and slipit to place upon theshaft against the collar, and then when properly adjusted screw a nut, R, tigh tly against it and clanlp it in placebetweenthe collarand the nut. This renders it easy to adjust the beamrelatively to Ille rock-shaft, and also to remove it at will, and incase either the beanl 8o or the shaft is broken but one of these partsneed be replaced, which is a material economical advantage.

In the ordinary hand-car the attachment ot' the collnecting-rod to thewalking-beam is usually lnade by means ol an eye or pivot ot` anyordinary construction, so that when lost illotion occurs, as it will dovery soon in practice on account ot' wear, there is no means ot'adjustment to take it up, and it continues to in- 9o crease and rendersthe connecting parts more liable to break, more difficult to work, andjerky and noisy in operation. To overcome this diiculty I provide asuitably-turned wristpin, S, and a pin-hole, preferably in a downwardprojection, T, ot' the walking-beam, and shrink the pin very tightlyinto its hole. I then provide a journal-box in two parts for the pinupon the end of the connecting-rod, as follows: The rod is provided witha head or plate, U, upon which rests one part of the box V. The otherpart or cap, V, is placed over the pin and over the rst part, and thetwo parts are held securely in place by means of a U-bar, X, passingthrough holes in the head of the connecting-rod and clamping downsecurely upon the box by means of nuts Y. Vith this careful securing ofthe wrist-pin and with exact itting of the box to the pin there will beno play or lost motion, and it will not rapidly occur by wear, becausethe material for the parts of the box can be selected with reference toits antifrictional and durable qualities; but when wear has taken placeand lost motion begins to be manifest it can readily be remedied bydetaching the parts and grinding oft' the contact faces of the sectionsof the box, and then adjusting them to place and securing them,asbefore.

In the ordinary hand-car the main driving gear-wheel is secured to thecrank-shaft either by means of a set-screw or a key connecting the hubof the wheel with the shaft. In this style of fastening the strain allcomes upon the holding screw or key, which is very liable to get looseand is very insecure. To provide against this difficulty, I cast orotherwise secure a cross-bar, Z, upon the main driving gearwheelextending from one radial arm to another, and provided with two lugs, a,between Which is a radial crank-recess. The radial recess for thecrank-arm may be formed by lugs projecting from one of the radial armsof the wheel or otherwise in the manufacture ot' the wheel. Inconnecting the crank and main driving-wheel together I fplace thecrankarm I) between these lugs in the recess, where it is neatly itted,and a set-screw, c, or any other appliance may be employed to connectthe hub ot' the wheel with the shaft, merely to prevent its slippinglongitudinally out of place on the shaft. By lthis means the strain istaken away from the hub and parts which usually attach it to the shaftand carried radially outward to a point on the crank-arm nearly,.or itmay be quite, to where the'driving-power of the connecting-rod from thewalking-beam is exerted upon the crank, which affords great security.rl'here is thus provided such an extent of bearingvsurface between thecrank-arm and the holding-lugs that the crank-shaft can never become inany way loose in its connection with the main driving gear-wheel.

rlhe brake mechanism has already been partly described, and it onlyremains to add that the coiled spring d is so applied to the foot-rodwithin the barrel N as to tend to elevate the rod and normally toelevate it sufficiently to withdraw the faces of the brake-shoes fromcontact with thc peripheries of the wheels. A flat spring, c, workingagainst the pinfor the like, may be employed instead of the coiledspring. Vhen itis desired to apply the brakes, pressure upon the step,as above stated, is applied by the foot, which forces the brake-shoesagainst theperipheries ofthe wheels, and when the pressure is relievedthe spring immediately withdraws the brake-shoes from contact with thewheels automatically through the instrumentality of the toggle-levers orother equivalent connecting mechanism between the foot-rod andbrake-shoes which may be employed.

Having thus described my improvements, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the walking-beam ot' a hand-car provided with acentral rock-shaft hole, a rock-shaft adapted to pass through the holein the beam, these two parts being secured together adjustably anddetachably by means of a thread on the rock-shaft and a clampingnut,substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with the walking-beam of a hand-car, a turnedwrist-pin rigidly attached thereto, and a pitman-rod provided with thehead or plate U, the two parts of thejournalbox V and W, and the U-barX, and nuts Y, all constructed and operated as set forth.

3. A main drivinggear for a hand-car, provided with a radial recess forthe crank-arm, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination. with the main drivinggear, of the cross-bar Z andlugs a, forming a recess for the crank-arm, substantially as set forth.

5. In a hand-car, the combination, with the brake-shoes andtoggle-levers, of a foot-rod provided with a retracting-spring andhaving a step upon which the weight of a person may be thrown so as tobreak both front and rear wheels at one side of the car, substantiallyas set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

GEORGE SOLYMAN SIIEFFIELI).

IOS

